


Easy

by orphan_account



Category: Twenty One Pilots
Genre: First Meetings, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Single Parents
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-06
Updated: 2016-12-09
Packaged: 2018-09-07 00:35:32
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,442
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8776156
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: "I have a kid.""My hand is in your pants. You're telling me this now?"





	1. Chapter 1

Josh isn’t stupid.

Josh isn’t stupid, and he knows there’s a reason Tyler won’t let him go to his house.

He knows Tyler well, knows the reason can’t really be _that_ bad. Of course, there’s always things you don’t know about a person, or wouldn't expect about them. And Josh knows that. But really. How bad could it be?

 

They’d met at a party a few weeks ago. A mutual friend had introduced them, and they had hit it off right from the beginning. _Almost_ the beginning.

They’d been in the kitchen, standing closely with intermingling breaths and flirty laughs. It had been going so well, and Tyler had thought maybe, _just maybe_ , this one wouldn’t be like the rest. But that quickly went out the window. Or so he thought.

When Josh had said “wanna get out of here?” Tyler felt panic rise in his stomach. _Of course. Just like the rest of them._ He didn’t want to have sex with Josh, at least not then. He hadn’t been into party hookups or casual sex, hadn’t been for the past six years. That was how he got himself into his current situation.

So when Josh had said “wanna get out of here?” Tyler couldn’t help but feel disappointed. But when Josh had followed up with “we should go get food,” Tyler’s heart rate had gone back to its normal pace, sudden relief filling his veins. Food, yeah. He could do food. Food is easy. He nodded as he breathed out a sigh.

That night, they ate together at midnight in some greasy, run-down burger joint, but neither of them would have had it any other way. It was calm, it was easy. _Easy_. Tyler had never known easy.

They’d parted ways that night, each with each other’s phone numbers now in their phones.

 

After that, planning dates with each other just came so _easy_. The first was at a restaurant, small and quaint but perfect for them to talk and eat when it wasn’t midnight.

“Wanna go back to my place?” Josh had offered afterwards. He must have sensed Tyler’s immediate apprehension, and he was quick to console him. “We don’t have to do anything. We can just watch movies.” Tyler smiled a silent thanks.

“Only if you have X-Files.”

The night at Josh’s house had gone smoothly, no awkward gaps in conversation, no blurriness of boundaries. But the one thing that Tyler couldn’t get off his mind was the fact that he wished it could be so easy for him to bring a boy home. He wished he didn’t have to hide such a huge and important part of his life to someone like Josh. But Josh was a keeper, and Tyler didn’t want to turn him off from him.

 

The next date was a simple walk in the park close to both of their houses. Feelings had developed greatly, and neither could deny how quickly they had fallen for the other. A true fairytale. Nicholas Sparks material. But alas, things weren’t always as easy as they seemed. When Josh had asked “do you want to go back to your place?” he wasn’t rude, and had had no intentions of making Tyler tense up and stop breathing momentarily. _Nonononotyet. NotthisoneIlikethisone. Letmeholdontothisone_. He made up some lame excuse about how his house was a mess, pretending to not notice the way his voice wavered obviously as he spoke, pretending not to notice the look of confusion and sadness on Josh’s face that followed. It wasn’t that he didn’t _want_ Josh to know; he did. He wanted Josh to be involved in his life, so involved that it became his own. But people tend to judge, especially since Tyler’s so young, and he wasn’t ready to be judged by Josh. He knew that if this continued, Josh would find out sooner or later. _Later_ , he settled on. Later it was.

 

Another date, a movie. Josh had pulled all the cliches, the counting shoulders trick, the “jump scare and hide in Tyler’s shoulder” trick, and Tyler had found it endearing. He called him out on it, and Josh hadn’t even tried to deny it, laughing at himself. Again, a single date hadn’t felt like enough for either of them, and they subconsciously planned to hang out after the movie. Figuring out _where_ , however, wasn’t as easy. Tyler had been hoping that Josh would offer his own place, but of course, Tyler was wrong. “How about yours?” Josh asks, with hopeful eyes and an unsure smile. Tyler could see the disappointment in his eyes when he gave another reason that they couldn’t.

“My house is under construction. It’s pretty, uh, minor, but I don’t want you to see it in such a bad state.” Perhaps if Tyler seemed even _remotely_ believable, then Josh would say he understood. Perhaps if Tyler didn’t stutter, fumble over his words, and sweat under pressure, then Josh wouldn’t have suspected a thing. But Tyler didn’t seem even remotely believable, and he did stutter and fumble over his words and noticeably sweat under pressure so Josh _did_ suspect something. But he didn’t say anything. He just nodded solemnly, hastily bidding goodbye to Tyler and leaving him alone.

 

“It seems like you’re keeping something from me.” Josh is blunt, but Josh is too nice for his own good, so he’s pretending he’s joking.

“Like you don't want me to come to your house.” This time, it’s clear he’s not joking. _So he_ has _caught on._ Tyler doesn’t blame him. But that doesn’t stop him from sitting there in that coffee shop, spewing lies about how he’s just not proud of his house, how he’s just not ready for that. It’s not easy. Josh is too nice for his own good, so he doesn’t call Tyler out. So Tyler thinks he’s gotten away with it.

But Josh isn’t stupid.

Josh isn’t stupid, and he knows there’s a reason Tyler won’t let him go to his house.

 

One night, he texts Tyler. He’s set aside his apprehension about getting close to him because of his suspicious lies about his house. He sets that aside, because he just really wants to kiss Tyler right now.

 

**Hey ty. Wanna come over?**

 

**Sure. be there soon**

 

And Tyler is there soon. Tyler is there soon, and it’s so _easy_ for his lips to meet Josh’s upon walking through the door. They tumble their way through the house together, finally reaching Josh’s bedroom and falling onto his bed unceremoniously. Josh gives him The Look. The “are you sure?” look. And it’s so easy for Tyler to say yes. He’s so sure.

He’s almost sure. But he can’t be, because there’s something tugging on the back of his mind, something he’s lost so many potential boyfriends over. Something Josh needs to know, something Josh will probably leave him for. Josh needs to know before anything happens. And suddenly, Josh’s hand is in his pants and his lips are on his neck and oh, God, Tyler just needs to say it.

“I have a kid.” Josh’s lips stop, but his hand doesn’t.

“My hand is in your pants. You’re telling me this now?”

“I didn’t want to lie to you anymore.” This time, Josh’s hand stops, slowly being retracted from Tyler’s pants. Tyler stares at him, unsure of how he’s taken it and not wanting to say anything more. Tears start to gather in his eyes as Josh stands up and walks out of the room because suddenly, everything stops being easy. This is how it always goes for Tyler. _“You have a kid? I’m not interested in a guy who’s just experimenting. Sorry.”_ They were never sorry. This is how it always goes, so why is he so upset? Tyler begins to gather his belongings, preparing himself to make the walk of shame back home when Josh strolls back in casually. Tyler bites his lip, and drops everything he’s holding when Josh comes over and takes his hand. They sit down on the bed together.

“When can I meet them?” Tyler stills, confused, searching Josh’s eyes for some sort of clarification. Surely, he can’t mean what Tyler thinks he means.

“What?”

“Your kid. Son. Daughter. Whatever.” Josh leans forward, pecking Tyler's lips easily. “When can I meet them?” His head is tilted sweetly, and Tyler is melting.

“Son. His name is Adam. You can meet him whenever you want, I guess.” _I guess_ he says, because this is not something he’s used to. He’s used to slamming doors and looks of remorse, not excited smiles and “when can I meet them?”

“Is that, uh . . . Is that why you never let me over your place?” Josh is hesitant to ask, suddenly seeming apologetic. Tyler nods, biting his lip. “Did you think I would have thought less of you? Because you had a kid?” Tyler only nods again.

“The guys I date usually don’t want anything to do with me once they find out. I’m usually up front about him. I don’t know why I didn’t tell you,” he shakes his head, blinking rapidly, “I should have told you.” Josh is silent for a while, and Tyler almost can’t look him in the face. Until he does, and he sees Josh sitting there with a stupidly big grin on his face. Tyler chuckles, so grateful and so at ease but also so confused as to why on _earth_ Josh is smiling like that right now.

“What?” Before he answers, Josh takes Tyler’s face in his hands gently, so gently it’s as if he thinks he’s going to break, and kisses him on the lips. The kiss is feather-light, to the point that it may not have even happened.

“Tell me about him.” Tyler wants to cry. He’s never gotten this. It’s never been this easy.

“Adam, he’s . . . He’s such a good kid.” Josh is rubbing Tyler’s back, and Tyler wants to cry even more. Josh doesn't miss the smile that subconsciously grows on Tyler's face as he thinks about his son. “He’s so smart. _So_ smart. He’s really into, like, robots and electronics and all that. It’s crazy. He’s really outgoing, too. I’m just scared for the day he realizes he’s the only one of his friends with no mom and he-” Tyler doesn’t get to finish because Josh’s hands have stopped rubbing his back and have started pulling him in for a kiss. A kiss so romantic it seems like it’s for the screens. A kiss so deep Tyler thinks he might physically fall into it. A kiss so passionate you would think it was that of two people on their wedding day. A kiss so easy that everything else suddenly seems like a challenge.

“I can’t wait to meet him.”


	2. Chapter 2

“Are you sure? I don’t want to force you into something like this. I’m just worried he migh-”

“Tyler.” Tyler looks over to Josh, who has his left hand on the steering wheel, the other reaching over to grab Tyler’s own hand. “I’m completely sure. Are _you_ sure?”

“Yes, I mean, I want you to meet him. It’s just . . . He doesn’t usually warm up the guys I date all that quickly.”

“Well, maybe I’ll be different.”

“He can be pretty brutally honest.”

“He’s six.” Tyler blinks, steadying himself.

“You’re right.” They go silent for a while afterward. Tyler stares out the window, gazing at all of the familiar houses that pass by as they approach his own. Even as Josh pulls into the driveway, Tyler doesn’t move. Josh doesn’t either, but for an entirely different reason. He heaves a deep sigh, nudging Tyler slightly to get his attention.

“Ready?” He asks with hopeful eyes. Hopeful boy.

“Alright, alright.” Tyler rolls his eyes playfully, making his way out of the car and up the path to the front door. Upon entering, Tyler is quick to make his way into the living room where he expects to see his son. Instead, he encounters the babysitter, a teenaged girl who so obviously hates watching kids, especially ones like Adam, but does it anyway for a paycheck. Her eyes widen momentarily.

“Oh, hi, Mr. Joseph. Adam’s in the back room.” Tyler bites his lip, zoning out momentarily. The girl looks at Josh curiously, appreciatively. Tyler doesn’t like it. He steps in front of Josh. Focusing back on each other, Tyler and the girl share a brief conversation consisting of thanks and payment, and she’s out the door with a polite smile to Josh.

Speaking of, Josh is watching the situation intently. Tyler is very clearly on edge, but Josh can’t decipher why. Tyler masks it quickly. Josh frowns.

“Ready?” Josh smiles. Tyler leads Josh past a grand set of stairs into a room set aside from the rest of the house, presumably the “back room.”

“Adam?” Tyler calls out a they approach the boy’s location

“Yeah?” By the time Adam replies, Tyler is at the doorway of the back room, Josh not far behind. Adam’s voice is distracted. Josh furrows his brows, but Tyler doesn’t look concerned. WIth one glance to Josh, Tyler steps into the room. Josh leans against the doorway, not in, but not out. His eyes dart around, taking in the room. He can tell why it’s set apart the way it is. It’s unfinished, clunky, mismatched furniture set up facing a big screen TV. It’s a big room, accented with a red color scheme on the walls. It’s messy, toys are strewn all over the floor, blankets laying haphazardly over couches, and there’s a boy sitting on the couch, his back facing the doorway. Oh, right. Adam.

Josh’s eyes settle on the back of the boy’s head. He wants to see his face, wants to know if he looks like Tyler, or if he looks like someone else. And if he does, who is it? He’s sitting on the couch, chin settled on his chest as he stares down at the iPad in his hands. He hasn’t noticed the two people behind him. He’s probably only expecting there to be one. Tyler makes his way over to the couch, sitting down on the coffee table in front of Adam. Josh stays behind.

“Hey, bud.” Tyler smiles, ruffling the boy’s hair playfully.

“Hi.” Adam looks up momentarily to Tyler, rubs his eyes tiredly then looks back down to his iPad.

“So, um.” Why is he nervous? This is his _kid_ , his own flesh and blood. “You know who Josh is, right? The one I told you about?” Tyler looks hopeful, and Josh wishes he could see Adam’s face right now so he could gauge his reaction. However, he gets the gist of it when he sees Adam hesitate slightly, then pause the game he’s playing on his iPad, laying it down in his lap. He nods.

“Well, he’s here. And I want you to meet him, okay? I really like him,” Josh breaks into a goofy smile at this, but Tyler doesn’t catch it, just keeps talking as if what he’s just said is the most obvious thing in the world, “so I want you to be nice to him.” Josh hears Adam hum slightly skeptically, but tries to ignore it. Tyler’s gaze lifts up, behind his son and onto Josh who’s still standing in the doorway. Adam follows his father’s gaze, beginning to speak. He gets out “he’s-” before he’s turned completely in his seat, staring at Josh with wide eyes and a mouth ajar.

“ _Woah . . .”_ Adam says lowly. Josh is unsure of what to do, looks to Tyler for some answers. And Tyler sure wishes he could _give_ him answers, but doesn’t know them himself because he’s clearly just as confused by his son as Josh is. Adam stands, moving the iPad from his lap and onto the space on the couch next to him. He runs over to Josh, never meeting his eyes. Josh just laughs, furrowing his brows fondly.

“Your _arm_.” Realizing what Adam means, Josh chuckles lightly. He raises and eyebrow as he looks over to Tyler, who’s still sitting on the coffee table, looking on with an anxious smile. The boy runs his hands all over the tattoos on Josh’s right arm, admiring them. “Daddy only has black ones.”

“Well, daddy’s boring,” Josh whispers, purposely loud enough for Tyler to hear. Tyler snorts, rolling his eyes as he stands up. Adam laughs like it’s the funniest thing he’s ever heard, and Josh’s heart swells at the sound of the boy’s delighted laughter.

“I know, right!” The boy chokes out.

“Alright, alright, it’s late. Time for bed.” Tyler shoos the boy away and up the stairs as he grumbles about how “it’s not even that late” and how he’s “not even tired.” Nonetheless, Adam concedes, heading upstairs. Tyler holds one finger up to Josh, signaling that he will only be a moment. He follows Adam up the stairs, helping him into bed. Unbeknownst to Tyler, Josh is halfway up the stairs himself, frozen, listening intently.

“I like him,” Adam states matter-of-factly. Josh bites his lip, stifling a giggle.

“Me too, buddy.” Josh hears Tyler give the boy a kiss. Perhaps on the forehead, perhaps on the cheek, perhaps anywhere else. No matter what, it’s a sight Josh wishes he got to witness. Tyler starts to head out of the room, and Josh bolts down the stairs, trying to act natural. But before Tyler can leave, a call of “dad?” sounds out.

“Yeah?” Adam’s head is down for a moment, but picks it back up to look at Tyler curiously.

“Will Josh be my new dad?” And Josh wants to cry, because at the moment, nothing sounds better. Tyler sighs with a light chuckle.

“One day, maybe,” Tyler seems to settle on after a while. “Goodnight,” he finishes with, closing the door and actually heading down the stairs this time. “Sorry,” he says to Josh as he finds him at the bottom of the stairs. Josh’s hand reaches up to touch the blush on Tyler’s cheek. Tyler’s blush only intensifies, his eyes falling closed. Josh studies him with a fond smile.

“It’s not a problem.”

And he means it.

* * *

 Some time later that night, Josh and Tyler are settled on the living room couch, a glass of wine in each of their hands as they sit sideways, looking at each other as they speak. In a moment of silence, Tyler sets his glass down on a table before speaking up.

“Sorry I was so afraid for you to meet him. Like I said, he can be a lot,” he says, rubbing his eyes. Josh sets his own glass down then, settling closer to Tyler, rubbing his hand on his thigh fondly. It’s not suggestive, it’s just comforting, and it’s all they both need.

“Don’t apologize,” he says, and Tyler’s heart breaks because this isn’t something that _happens_ to him, _ever_. He doesn’t get “don’t apologize,” he gets “I can’t do this.” But Josh isn’t done. “He’s great, he’s funny. I like him.” On reflex, Tyler responds.

“I like you.” There’s a moment of funny silence, and then they’re both laughing. “That was so lame,” Tyler says. And so what if it is? Josh still brings him in for a kiss anyway. A slow, sweet kiss that leaves fire dancing on Tyler’s lips.

“I like you too,” he says.

“Thank you for making this so easy.” And then they’re kissing again, moving their bodies to press as close together as humanly possible. There’s tongue and there’s lips and there’s the most heavenly make-out session either of the two have ever experienced. It’s not getting sexual, though, not even hinting at it. It seems like it could go on forever, and perhaps it would have if they hadn’t been interrupted by the sound of a slight gasp and a soft giggle coming from the hallway. They stop, staring at each other with wide eyes before turning to look back at the silhouette of a little boy in the dark hallway.

“Adam, go to _bed_ ,” Tyler groans, throwing his arms over his face as Josh laughs lightly. Adam just stands there with his arms crossed, faux pout on his face. Suddenly, Josh stands, slowly stalking over to Adam goofily. But the boy doesn’t relent, and it’s not until Josh is running, chasing him up the stairs that he moves from his spot. Adam’s shrieks of laughter resonates through the house as he runs, sounds all the way back to Tyler, who still sits on the couch shaking his head in disbelief with a hint of a smile on his lips. He supposes he could get used to this.


End file.
